Monday, 14 March 2011

"Scholars" Claim to find Atlantis; In Other News, Atlantis Still Not Found

"A U.S.-led research team may have finally located the lost city of Atlantis, the legendary metropolis believed swamped by a tsunami thousands of years ago in mud flats in southern Spain."

The team of scholars used underground mapping, and deep-ground radar to uncover structures buried beneath swampy mud flats north of the city of Cadiz. But, why are they so certain that they've found the fabled Atlantis?

"Freund's discovery in central Spain of a strange series of "memorial cities," built in Atlantis' image by its refugees after the city's likely destruction by a tsunami, gave researchers added proof and confidence, he said.Atlantis residents who did not perish in the tsunami fled inland and built new cities there, he added."

So their evidence that they have found Atlantis is that they found "memorial sites" to the North that they attribute to being built by Atlantean refugees. But what makes them so sure these "memorial sites" are Atlantean in origin? Well, because they're north of the possible site of Atlantis, of course! If you don't see a problem with this, then you should probably take a refresher course in circular arguments.

But there's more reason to be skeptical. Which journal is the team planning on detailing their findings? Well, none.

"The team's findings will be unveiled on Sunday in "Finding Atlantis," a new National Geographic Channel special."

Because revealing your findings in a made-for-TV documentary is something legitimate scholars do, right? Though this should come as little surprise; the team is being lead by "Dr." Richard Freund - a guy who's PhD is from the Jewish Theological Seminary, has also claimed to have found the lost treasures of the Temple of Jerusalem, and has written a book called “Secrets of the Cave of Letters: A Dead Sea Mystery”. The guy is little more than a "reality-show" historian and comparable to the likes of Zecharia Sitchin and Eric Von Daniken. In other words, the guy's a crank.

Also, why is it that any time a submerged structure is discovered, people cry "AH-HA! Atlantis!"? The evidence that Atlantis even existed is dubious at best, and even if it did, a sunken city is probably hardly unique. "Atlantis" has already been found dozens of times. While Freund's find is interesting itself, it is not "Atlantis".